It started with a furious blast. But as the country’s ears still rang from the dreadful sound of that explosion on October 16, 2017, a series of events had been set in motion.
Now, five years from the killing of Malta’s most controversial writer, have we learnt any lessons? Has this killing served as a coming-of-age moment? Was it a transition into a higher democratic maturity? Or are we destined to repeat the same mistakes?
The political and the public
Joseph Muscat’s administration held on to power for nearly two years after Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered.
He argued his government had ensured that her killers would be brought to justice, but it was under his watch that a journalist had been killed in the first place. And as journalists started to piece together links between those allegedly behind the killing and Auberge de Castille, Muscat’s office eventually came crashing down.
Once the undisputed centre of all government power, Muscat was forced to relinquish his crown as baying crowds flocked to Valletta for days on end demanding justice.
The explosion which murdered a journalist also galvanised a new civil society movement united against the corrupt practices in politics and big business. It was proof that even in the face of such unassailable political power, the public could unite and bring about change.
Civil society groups like Occupy Justice and Repubblika were born, and while many continue dismissing their relevance or motivation, these groups have snapped at the heels of those in office.
From the gaping wound of Daphne’s murder, new streams of investigative journalism and international collaborations were sprung.
A new administration and new faces
In January 2020, Robert Abela was sworn in as Muscat’s replacement. Key figures in the Muscat administration were left out; Konrad Mizzi, Chris Cardona, Keith Schembri – all deserving of their own chapter in the Daphne story.
Days after taking office, Abela announced changes. Maligned police chief Lawrence Cutajar, who became a symbol of the police’s reluctance to investigate corruption, was forced out.
A new specialised police unit was set up. The beleaguered Economic Crimes Unit – which had failed to act on reports of alleged money laundering – was scrapped and its head, assistant commissioner Ian Abdilla, was suspended by newly appointed police commissioner Angelo Gafà.
The Office of the Attorney General was split into two new roles, meaning the government’s lawyer would no longer also be the state’s main prosecutor.
A few months later, Peter Grech resigned as AG after a decade in the job. He had long faced calls to resign after his decision not to prosecute politicians named in the Panama Papers leaks.
The public inquiry and the way forward
In the summer of 2021, a document was released which diagnosed what had gone wrong in the run-up to Daphne’s murder.
The 400-page public inquiry report defined the impact Daphne’s murder had on the country. In no uncertain terms, the report laid the responsibility for her killing at the feet of the Muscat administration, saying it had created a culture of impunity that facilitated the murder.
The political post-mortem said there had been a collapse of the rule of law brought on by “the tentacles” which spread from the Office of the Prime Minister.
Within hours, Abela offered the Caruana Galizia family an apology on behalf of the state. It was an admission of fault, but people demanded action.
More than a year later and much of the public inquiry report’s recommendations are yet to be implemented.
These are not trivial reforms either. The public inquiry’s authors, three judges, called for specific laws against mafia-style associations and abuse of office, and new provisions to punish the obstruction of justice.
All these remain missing from Malta’s legal framework.
"The government’s own relationship with the press is increasingly hostile. Abela is yet to give an interview to the independent media and journalists are given less and less face time with those in power"
The only thing the government has taken onboard from the public inquiry is the need for a reform to protect journalists. The government has tabled several proposed legal changes in parliament, but journalists are now united in calling for these to be pulled and redrafted.
The government’s own relationship with the press is increasingly hostile. Abela is yet to give an interview to the independent media and journalists are given less and less face time with those in power.
Questions have also been raised about the way big business continues being allowed to infiltrate power.
Aside from taking a deep look at the way politics operates, a stone was also lifted to expose the worms in the darker elements of the business world.
The stories that were published in the years after Daphne’s murder showed a political class that went weak at the knees when confronted with the dazzling wealth of big business.
Crowds are expected to gather in Valletta once again on Sunday, to mark the fifth anniversary of Daphne’s murder.
The road to justice for her killing is far from over. So too is the path to healing from this dark time.